Against All Odds
by skiestintedorange
Summary: Jane confesses to Jake and he accepts her feelings but does everything go well afterwards? Modern AU. Will be a two parter.
1. Chapter 1

**Pairing:** Jake English/Jane Crocker

 **Warnings:** none, save for some implied sexual content at the end

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

 **A/N:** Dedicated to a friend, whom I hope enjoys this. This is my first time writing for Homestuck. Will be a two parter.

Today was the day.

Today was the day in which Jane Crocker was going to confess to her longtime friend, Jake English, that she liked, no, _loved_ him. That she loved him so much that just seeing him made her heart skip a beat. For a long, long time, she had denied her feelings for him. Pretended they didn't exist. That she didn't lay on her bed and think of him at night. That she didn't look forward to every gaming session they had with baited breath. But that was in the past. Today she was 19 years old, and she was living in a literal hellhole of a city.

Also she was _tired_ of Jake flirting with other girls and guys and not even having as much time for her anymore. No more gaming sessions cause he was too busy hitting up his dates. No more long phone calls.

She would change that.

She would make him realize that she was a _lot_ cuter and funnier and had better taste in movies and books, then any of the other people he'd gone out with. Or try too.

Jane nervously paced in her living room. Her parents were out and it was near 5 PM on a Friday, in November. The sun was already setting and her anxiety was already growing rapidly. She tried to push that aside as she knew that she needed to do this, before it was too late, as Roxy had warned her. It was true, she knew, that if she was to do it, it had to be now. Before Jake moved on and found a new partner. She didn't know if she could stomach him and Dirk getting together again. Oh, she'd act happy for them, but she'd be so envious when she was alone she didn't know how she'd handle it again.

As she frowned at the thought, the doorbell rang. _Damn it. Did it have to ring so soon_? _Couldn't it have waited... for a year or two? But if I don't answer it, I'll be known as a chicken!_ she thought, her heart starting to race, her palms starting to get sticky with sweat from how hard she'd been clenching them earlier.

She forced herself to unclench her hands and walk over to her front door. Her legs felt weak and each step felt like she was taking her last, so much strength did she have to put into each one. Sweat trickled down her legs, dampening the back of her black shorts, so severe was her anxiety.

When she opened the door, her hand was shaking ( _don't be so dumb_ , she scolded herself, _it's still just Jake, even if you like him_.) Jake was standing in her doorway, as usual, at least of late, a frown on his face. She would soon erase that, she vowed to herself, she would make him smile. The smile that warmed her heart and made her heart skip beats, made her pulse race.

"Hey." she said, gesturing for him to come in.

He paused, a look of uncertainty on his face that made her heart drop. Things still weren't the same between them, not after their fight after John and Dirk broke up. She had said some horrible stuff to him, things she hadn't really thought or meant, things she hadn't thought he'd taken seriously. Obviously she was wrong if he didn't even think it was okay for him to come in.

"Come on in, Jake, I need to talk to you." she said again, softer and kinder, hoping that'd relieve him of some of his anxieties. God only knew, she was shouldering most of the anxiety at the moment.

He hesitated a few seconds more but entered, his hands in his pockets and shoulders slouched.

"What is it about?" he asked, his tone impatient and suspicious, "If it's about that marlarky Dirk spewed about me cheating at that Mario cart game against you, it's - "

"No, no, none of that." she said quickly, cutting him off, not wanting to hear about that anymore, Dirk had ranted about that enough to her already over the phone. She motioned to the couch. "Come on, let's sit down."

He looked at her and sat down on the edge, Jane rolled her eyes but said nothing. She sat down beside him, a bit too close evidently, as he scooted over quickly. Trying not to feel hurt, she turned to face him.

"Jake... I dunno how to tell you really... I know, I've done some crappy stuff this year, but, so have you. That's all in the past and we... I need to move on from it and I'm rambling, aren't I?" she laughed, nervously, wringing her hands in her lap, unable to look in his eyes, she focused on his left cheek. "But, I've always... liked you." she finished and shut her eyes so as not to see his reaction.

Silence.

She bit her lower lip. He had to react in a moment and she was unsure of whether he'd be mad or not. He had confronted her over her feelings for him once and she'd denied everything. That had been a mistake, one she hadn't wanted to make again, not before she went to college. She wanted to know if Jake loved her or not, if there was any chance of getting with it, you better believe she'd snatch it.

Still that blasted silence dragged on.

She opened her eyes, unable to handle not knowing what was going on.

Jake was looking at her, his expression confused. "Um... I already know that, Jane."

She blinked, "What?"

"Gosh... I... I mean, I've known all along, it's obvious. Cause you blushed around me a lot, and the way you everfriggen watched me and Dirk... it was obvious?" he stated, shrugging his shoulders.

She felt her face heat up and anger rise in her. She was tempted to sock him but she fought it.

"Well?! If you knew, how do you feel?" she asked, her voice shaking from containing her anger.

"I guess I could give it a shot and we could date and while I dunno much about dating, it sounds like fun. I make a bunch of blunders and I get desolate at times but, if you-"

 _Would he ever stop rambling?_ Jane wondered. She kind of wanted to kiss him now, not in a thousund years or while her parents were around. But he wouldn't shut up. It looked like it was up to her to make the first move. She sighed. Just great! How romantic this would sound when she had to tell her grandkids that their granddad was dense and didn't know how to take a damned que. She might just tell a small lie. It'd sound better.

 _Fuck it goshdarnnit it all to hell_ , she thought, and with a deep breath, she reached out and pressed her mouth against his.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Still dedicated to my friend.

 **Warnings:** none

 **Disclaimer:** I as usual own nothing.

* * *

 _In all honesty,_ Jake had not intended to go see Jane, not after all the marlarky she had spewed at him during their last fight. But for some reason, he had changed into warmer clothes, and headed to her house. He supposed it was instincts. Great, he thought, gloomily, ringing her doorbell. _Even my mcfreakin' subconscious wants me to suffer._

So, he was honestly stunned when she kissed him. Well, that she was kissing him. That her mouth was against his. He nearly forgot to kiss her back, but thankfully before she could move away, he grabbed ahold of her and kissed her back. He accidently bumped his nose against hers and he winced inwardly. He wasn't amazing, admittedly, he had never really been good at it, no matter how Dirk had tried to teach him. It had irritated Dirk, he was a great kisser, and Jake's stomach dropped just thinking of it. Jane would now have more ammunition against him. He shouldn't have come, he couldn't handle being mocked again, not so soon. He was about to move away when Jane did first, blushing. _Is she blushing because she is embarrassed of the kiss? Of how bad I am?_

"I... well... " she said, breathlessly.

"Yeah, uh, sorry." he apologized, his voice sounded strange, unused.

Her face crumpled, uncertainty in her eyes. "W... what for?" she asked.

"You know, the kiss being rotten and all. If -" he stopped when she scoffed at him.

"If it was so rotten then why am I blushing?" she pointed at her face. "Or are you apologizing for kissing me, the rotten kisser?"

 _Wait, she thinks I think she is the rotten one? Things had_ _just started getting good between us._ Jake hadn't forgotten or forgiven all that Jane had said, but kissing her had awaken something in. He didn't know what it was. _Warmth? Happiness? Just... feelings other than self loathing?_

"Thunderations, what a fucking clod I am." he said, way too loudly, as Jane jumped slightly. "Jane, I'm not sorry I kissed you! I'm sorry for... for being a sucky kisser." he rushed out, embarrassed by his word choice.

Jane's face changed from anger to surprise. "You... you clod, you don't suck! And how would I know? It was just my first kiss and I thought it was great. So if you suck, I suck, and unless we're both vampires, we don't."

Jake stared at her and slowly, his feelings of dread and low key anger started to fade, replaced by that strange feeling, that feeling he had felt before. Dirk, it was the same feelings, well, no, not exactly. With Dirk, he had never truly been a hundred percent satisfied or like he belonged. Oh, Dirk had tried and he had as well. But then a sort of boredom had come over him and he had just, for lack of a better word ( _rather ironic that I who knows so many words couldn't think of one, isn't it_?), _stopped_. Then all the fights had broken out and tempers had flared and everything had gone to bad gravy and they all revealed themselves to be jerkwads if pressed enough.

He shook his head, that didn't matter at the moment, none of it did. Not now. Not when he might have a chance to be happy and he'd be damned if he didn't try to get stuffed with that happiness. He was going to seize it and hold it and if Jane was so sure, he'd have to be just as, if not more, sure as her.

"I guess." he shrugged. "But what if I do want to suck?" he wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.

Jane looked confused and then it dawned on her. Her face reddened against and she rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, vampire boy, but we only have until my parents get back."

She stood up and reached out her hand to him, her face flushed but she was grinning, and she looked so different from how he had seen her before. She seemed to him as if she was older, more refined. (H _ow had her body changed so much? how had her breasts gotten slightly larger, her face older and not childlike?_ )

He took her hand, marvelling at how soft and tender her hands were, even if they were sweaty like his. He bowed to her when he stood up.

"May I suck your blood?"

"Jake!"

"I'm just kidding! I won't suck your blood, unless you're sure." he promised.

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, but turned around and started dragging him by the hand to the stairs, and as they descended, his mind clouded by awesome mcfreakin' images of him and Jane together, he realized there was something he had forgotten to say.

"Jane... you're sure, right?"

"Hmm?"

"About liking me?" he asked, wincing at the tone of desperation in his voice.

She stopped abruptly, causing him to walk straight into her, which made her in turn fall forwards. He grabbed ahold of her left arm and saved her from falling by pulling her up.

"Thanks, also, yes, I'm sure. I don't think I'd invite you up here, otherwise." she said, brushing herself off. "I've liked you a long time, Jake, believe me. I'm not going to change my mind."

Relief flooded him.

"Are you sure?"

She looked, exasperated. "Yes, Jake."

"Good. I promised I wouldn't suck your blood unless you were sure."


End file.
